Seeing Interfaith Outreach in the World of the Present

Once upon a time in the late 1990’s Len Gimbel was next in line to be FJMC President.

Rabbi Charles Simon, FJMC’s rabbinical spiritual presence, pulled Len aside and said, “Lenny, you will be president in 2 years. What do you want your goal and objective to be?”

Len responded, “I have 5 daughters and they all married non-Jewish men. “What did I do wrong?”

Lenny of course did nothing wrong. And so FJMC’s Keruv Initiative was born. Lenny spent all of his term as President working on this goal. And his efforts were introduced at the 2001 Convention in Toronto.

At that time the anecdotal percentage of a Jew marrying a non-Jew was 40%. Today, some 25 years later, it is around 70%.

And a new category beyond the traditional 4 traditions of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructing) has been added: “Just Jewish.” We can all guess at the category with the fastest growth rate of the 5.

The word Keruv was said to mean “drawing near.”  As in, “we want to draw interfaith couples and families  near to us – to Conservative synagogues and their congregants.”

We want to welcome interfaith couples as they are, not as we want them to be. That process will come if we adopt the necessary steps and initiatives it takes to welcome and embrace them.

The original FJMC Keruv Initiative lasted for about 20 years.

Those for whom such a goal, such a purpose, such an endeavor is important, those individuals need to identify themselves and begin the process of creating a new initiative with a new name and certainly a renewed vision.